Category: Tonefiend DIY Club

All posts and project files for the Tonefiend DIY Club

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DIY Effects Tonefiend DIY Club

Tonefiend DIY Club: Project 1, Part 2

"Me am play 'Rain Song' again, okay?"

Here are the instructions for Part 2 of our first DIY Club project: building a bad-ass distortion pedal.

Not to spoil any surprises, but in this installment, we take the loud, raw sound we arrived at in Project 1, Part 1:

Raw Distortion

…and refine it by adding diode distortion, and customizing it to taste. Here are four possible results:

Distortion with Diodes

We’ll also add a variable gain control:

Distortion with Gain Control

…plus a master volume. Along the way, you’ll encounter cool tricks, wicked sounds, boring theory, and a friendly but foul-smelling sasquatch who can play most of Led Zeppelin’s “Rain Song.” And only one of these statements is a lie!

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DIY Effects Tonefiend DIY Club

Tonefiend DIY Club: Project 1, Part 1

Okay, DIYers—get ready for Part 1 of our first project.

Warning: It ends with a bang!

Download the step-by-step instructions here. (You might want to print out a copy to use on your workbench.) Post any thoughts, questions, or curses in comments.

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Bass DIY Effects guitar Pickups Tonefiend DIY Club

Tonefiend DIY Club:
Join and or Die!

I hereby call to order the first meeting of the Tonefiend DIY Club!

Our mission: To attain tonal mastery over our guitars, amps, and effects with the least possible damage to our gear, bodies, homes, and pets. When the smoke has cleared (and all the smoke alarms have been reset) you’ll be able to install pickups, customize your guitar’s electronics, mod and build stompboxes, repair cables, and brag about your technical prowess while waiting in line to file your insurance claims.

Take it from one of the laziest and clumsiest people ever to brandish a soldering iron: Anyone can learn these skills. They’re fun and creative, and they’re one of the best ways to “own you tone,” if I may borrow the Seymour Duncan motto.

As promised, this material will be suitable for absolute beginners. (Though I hope more experienced guitar hackers join in, because we’ll really need your help!)

Read on for lists of what you’ll need to build our first three projects, plus recommended reading while waiting for your stuff to arrive.

Continue reading “Tonefiend DIY Club:
Join and or Die!”